Some things really are better off left to the professionals and believe it or not, web design is one of them. Don’t make the mistake in thinking that professional web design is something an amateur can quickly and easily do. Smart business people outsource what they can’t do themselves in a cost effective way. Here are 10 reasons why building your website yourself may not save you money.

There are more websites than ever to compete with. If you use a template, there’s a good chance one of your competitors may use the same or a similar template. If you hire a professional designer, you can be assured that your custom website will really stand out from your competition – this can mean more sales and more money!

Usability can make or break a site. If your site is not user friendly, your potential customers will become frustrated and leave. There is more to web design than putting words and pictures on a computer monitor. A professional web designer will understand the psychology involved in the way people use the internet and websites.

People make up their minds about a website within a matter of seconds. If your site doesn’t look professional, people may not stick around long and aren’t as likely to trust you with their money. Many people who use templates don’t fill in all the content areas and leave the site looking rushed, unfinished, and not a priority. That could leave your potential customers feeling that your only priority is getting their money, rather than helping them solve a problem.

Are you really saving money by building your website yourself if no one can even find it? A professional designer will know how to make sure that your site is search engine friendly and able to be found by your target audience.   This will result in more customers and more money!

There are several tricks you may have heard of that may help people find your site, but some of them can actually get you banned from search engines. A professional designer will know the good from the bad and make sure that your site is not blacklisted.

Writing for web is very different from writing from print. Additionally, typos and bad grammar can make your potential customers groan and quickly leave your site. A professional will know the best way to convey your message, draw in your customers, and make sure that your site comes across as professional in every way.

If it takes too long for pages to load, your potential customers will get frustrated and leave your site. Images used on websites need to be optimized. Screen resolution is very different from print resolution. A professional designer will know this and make sure that your images are the proper file type and have the smallest file size possible while retaining clarity in order to make the pages load quickly.

While you can specify what font you want used on a website, only fonts installed on the user’s computer will actually work on their computer. That cool looking font you may want all over your site may end up defaulting to a very different, and often boring, font on your customer’s computer. A professional will know how to work that special font into your site and make it actually show up on your customer’s computer.

Many stock templates and inexpensive do-it-yourself web development software do not have clean, valid code. What this means is that the site may not work the way you want it to. It also makes it harder for the search engines to index and can affect your ranking and the ability of your potential customers to find your site.

A professional web designer will understand potential legal issues for websites and avoid them. A simple mistake involving copyright or trademark infringement could end up costing you thousands or even millions of dollars in a law suit. Is it worth it to save a few hundred dollars on your website if you are actually gambling the future of your business or worse – your own future? Some web related legal issue cases can end up in criminal court and result not only in monetary damages but also actual jail time!  Simply not knowing any better does not get you off the hook.